Use the phrase “self-publishing” or “independent author” and most people think of books. I believe, however, the correct definition of “self-publishing” is someone who publishes his or her own work in any format. 

Here’s a question that is asked in almost every seminar or workshop I teach:

Q: I have a book title I want to preserve but the book is a good ways from being ready. Is there a way to copyright a title long before the book is published? –James

A: You cannot copyright a title (or an idea) at all. You can only copyright  a work. Even if you copyright a book or article with a given title, that does not prevent someone from using that title for another work, even on the same topic. Of course, none of your written material in an article or book can be used.

Once your book is published, you can (and should) register the the title with Books in Print, but again, that does not prevent someone else from using the same title, although it may discourage use.

Focus on writing your book and don’t worry about “saving” the title. No one else can write your book, only you!

Sending your work out for review by agents and editors is a big and important step in the publishing process. Many times, what you send is the only basis for the big decision that has to be made. In most cases, the person on the other end doesn’t know you and can only judge your work by the contents of the package.  So, how do you make a good first impression? Review this handy checklist before you send out your work.

• Believe in your work. Be able to sum it up succinctly and passionately. If you’re not enthusiastic and confident about your project, you’re not ready to submit.
• Prepare your manuscript professionally. That includes using good paper, printer and standard formatting. Then package it per submission guidelines. Send only what is requested.
• Perfect your pitch/query letter.
  • Don’t try to sum up whole book in the letter. For fiction, describe your character, setting and obstacle. For nonfiction, present the problem and how your book offers a solution or new information.
  • Why you are uniquely qualified to write this book? What is your training, education and related experience?
  •  Who is your audience? (Tip: Anyone who can fog a mirror is not the right answer.) Be as specific as possible.
  • Why have you selected this agent or editor? Do not send out submissions en masse with the same letter to everyone.
• Understand what an agent does and does not do. Understand publishing is a business, and the agent makes a business, not a personal, decision.
• Know the industry lingo: platform, competing books, audience/climate.

Demonstrate that you are knowledgeable about the publishing process. Contacting agents is more than writing a letter. You are expected to know how to format your letter and all the parts of the submission package. 

Remember, the agent is not responsible for coaching you in the basics of the industry. The job of the agent is to sell your manuscript to a publisher and then negotiate the best possible rights and deal for you. If you can make the agent’s job easier by sending the material he or she needs to get that job done, you will increase your chances of acceptance.

You’ll find detailed instructions on how to write a query letter and prepare a submission package in 4Ps to Publishing Success: Get Your Manuscript Off Your Desk & Into Print. Available as a workbook or ebook, 4Ps to Publishing Success is a complete step-by-step guide to getting published. Or, you can purchase only the information you need in Chapter 7 of 4Ps Buy the Chapter.  Get a full description of all the 4Ps Products here>>>

For many writers, just getting started is a challenge. That’s usually because they’re  expecting the words to flow out  in perfect order. Or  worse, they’re waiting to “be inspired.” Ha.

You wouldn’t jump into physical exercise without warming up. Why expect your brain to be any more prepared to perform well on demand than your muscles?

Honor yourself and your muse with respect for the craft. Here’s some tips to get you in the writing flow:

 1. Buy a journal that appeals to your senses. Not just a notebook or tablet. Use a hardcover, bound book. Your thoughts are important and deserve to be recorded in a volume worthy of your words. Spiral-bound notebooks or pads don’t suggest permanence or quality.

2. Purchase a pen that you use only to write in this journal. Consider the color of the ink, the thickness/thinness of the writing tip and how it feels in your hand. Write at least one page every day at the same time. Experiment until you find the time of day that feels best to you. You can write more, if you feel it; but do not write less than one page per day.

3. If the page per day doesn’t feel right to you, buy a timer. Start with 5 minutes per day. Gradually increase to 15 minutes or more. Write without editing or rereading.

4. Good sources of prompts:

Journalution: Journaling to Awaken Your Inner Voice, Heal Your Life and Manifest Your Dreams by Sandy Grason 

The Pocket Muse: Ideas & Inspirations for Writing by Monica Wood

5. Select a spot or area for your writing time. Make it comfortable. Make sure you have good light. Decorate the area with “comfort” items: flowers, pretty knickknacks, photos, etc. Play music softly if it doesn’t disturb you. Light a scented a candle; burn incense. Once you establish a ritual, do it the same way each day.

Once you establish this pattern for writing in your journal, try a similar pattern for sitting at the computer if that’s your chosen method for writing. It will be easier to establish a set writing time and pattern for your creative work once you make journaling a habit. You’ll also find that journaling unleashes a flow of material and sparks your imagination in ways you never thought possible.

Portions of this article are reprinted from 4Ps to Publishing Success: Get Your Manuscript Off Your Desk & Into Print by Shelley Lieber.  If you liked today’s article, you’ll LOVE the book! A complete step-by-step guide to getting published. Find out if you need 4Ps to Publishing Success>>> 

 Photo ©Gemignani. See more photos by Joe Gemignani.

It’s very exciting and a good opportunity to reply to a journalist’s query or request for expert sources. However, there are conventional rules of procedure to follow, or you risk being labeled a pest rather than a valuable resource! Here’s how to submit your expertise, book or product to a media request. (These rules apply to “blind” pitching, too.)

1. Only respond or pitch if you are an appropriate match for the topic. Don’t try to stretch the truth or present yourself to be something you’re not or promise what you can’t deliver.
2. Give the request serious thought before dashing out your information. Read the request carefully. What is the angle of the story? Who is the audience? Then present your material in a manner that is consistent with the needs of the story and the audience.
3. Open with an introduction about why you are writing (I’m writing in response to… or to suggest…). Indicate why you are an expert, but keep to a sentence. “As a licensed physical therapist with Such and Such Medical Group, ….”
4. Present your information and specify how it is relevant to the subject of the article or show. Make your presentation to the journalist very clear; don’t assume that he or she will connect the dots between what you are sending and what they need. If this is a blind pitch, then it’s even more important to establish how your information can benefit or be of interest to the audience.
5. Put your short bio at the end, with your contact information. If you have a book, include “[your name], author of…” Always end with “I’d be happy to provide additional for this or any other article (show, etc.) that you are preparing about (the subject). Please let me know how else I can help you.”
6. Keep it short. This is not the time to submit your media kit, photo or any self-serving attachments. The purpose of your response is to feed enough information to the journalist to prompt a call or email for more information. If you are contacted, remember that the goal is to serve the press, not to get free publicity. If you help the journalist, your name or product may be cited in the newspaper, magazine or media broadcast. Although that’s the ultimate payoff for you, your purpose in replying to requests or sending pitches is to help the journalist do his or her job, which is serving the needs of the audience.
7. Be mindful of deadlines.

Be realistic. You may think you’re the perfect source or match for the journalist’s needs, but you won’t get a call every time you submit. However, if you establish a pattern of consistent quality and reliability (they call you for a quote when their deadline is in 15 minutes), then you’ll develop a valuable relationship that will pay off for you many times over.

We’ve all felt like we’ve been up against a brick wall at one time or another with our writing. Here are some creativity-boosting tips for busting through writer’s block.

1. Free write. Set a timer for ten minutes and just write. If you’re writing in a journal, you may want to have a prompt or ask yourself a question. Write the prompt or question at the top of the page and go. If you’re working on your book or an assignment, review your notes or what you last wrote and then write for ten minutes. Start each writing session this way. Getting started is the hardest part of the writing process for most people. Allowing yourself the freedom of free writing, without censure, lets you begin.

2. Have several projects. In the event that your novel’s characters are being totally uncooperative, switch to another writing project. This is a good time to think about headlines for a press release or to work on your query letter or proposal. Or perhaps you have an article you’re working on or an idea for an article you want to pitch to an editor. A caveat: Stick to writing projects and stay off the Internet. If you start to answer email, you’ll be pulled away from writing. Even worse is to work on “research” via the Internet. An hour will pass and you’ll have not written a word!

3. Read your journal or take out the notebook you keep with the notes you’ve jotted down for stories. If you don’t keep a notebook, begin immediately! Write down any thoughts about characters, scraps of overheard conversation, or events that stimulate an article idea. Keep this notebook with you at all times. And, always, always have a pen. Part of developing the creative habit is to be prepared. How many good ideas have you lost because you didn’t write them down?

4. Take a break. If the words are truly stuck, try something else entirely. Take a walk, sew, paint, cook, read or do some activity you enjoy. Be sure to return to the page, though, within a short period of time.

Portions of this article are reprinted from 4Ps to Publishing Success: Get Your Manuscript Off Your Desk & Into Print by Shelley Lieber. If you liked the article, you’ll LOVE the book! A complete step-by-step guide to getting published. Find out if you need 4Ps to Publishing Success>>>

The only way to make continual progress with your writing is to set goals. There’s no job description for writer and no standard measurement for advancement. So, it’s up to you to establish a framework that defines your goals and strategies for success.

It’s a good idea to set a mixture of short- and long-term goals. Ask yourself where you want to be in the next three months, six months, one year, two years, five years and ten years. Dream big dreams and don’t let “reason” restrict your vision for yourself.

Use the well-known acronym, SMART, to help you create your goals. SMART stands for:

Specific: Be precise. Instead of “I will write more often,” say, “I will write every morning.”?

Measurable: Write quantitative, rather than qualitative, goals. Make sure you can measure progress, or how will you know when you’ve attained your goal??Action-Oriented: Choose goals you can control. Rather than “I will be published in a national magazine by June of this year,” write “I will send a query letter each week to possible markets until I am published in a national magazine.”?

Risk/Realistic: Set goals that will make you stretch your capabilities, but don’t set yourself up for failure. If you have a full-time job or small children at home, writing a novel in one month is an unlikely feat.?

Timed: Deadlines help you pace yourself to complete your goals within a specific period of time. The publishing world rises and falls on making deadlines, so push yourself to hold firm to your commitment. ? ?

Other Tips

1. Put your goals in writing.
2. Post your goals where you can see them or make it a point to read them at least three times a day: when you awake in the morning, mid-day and before you go to sleep.
3. Share your goals with a supportive friend or relative. Your writers’ group may be your support group. The act of sharing your intentions releases them to the Universe and also will help keep you accountable–you will want to perform to expectations.
4. Celebrate your successes! When you can cross off a goal or make a check mark on your list, buy yourself a new journal, pen or book. See a movie or have lunch with a friend. Schedule a manicure or massage.
5. Get back to work after your celebration. Keep going.
6. Be flexible and adjust your goals when necessary. New opportunities always arise and you may find yourself attracted to magazine writing when you thought you wanted to write screenplays. Be open to possibilities that are as yet unseen.
7. Never beat yourself up or consider yourself a failure for not completing a goal in a specified time. Review your setbacks and revise your strategy. Never, never, never give up!

Portions of this article are reprinted from 4Ps to Publishing Success: Get Your Manuscript Off Your Desk & Into Print by Shelley Lieber.  Find out if you need 4Ps to Publishing Success>>>

Are you tired of making lists: things to do, goals to make, promises to keep…? I am. It seems it never ends and there’s always another list to make. So, I decided to take a good, honest look at why I haven’t lost the weight, made the money or gone on the trip.

This is what I discovered. I’ve accomplished far more than I had thought, but there are still important milestones I’ve yet to reach. So, what is the difference between what I have accomplished and what I have not?

At first I thought is was a matter of belief. But I truly do know I can lose five pounds, make more money and go on a vacation, because I’ve done that all before. So I looked again at my list of what I’ve done and what I haven’t done–and something jumped out at me with serious “aha” velocity.

The single distinguishing factor between my lists was that on one I had let go of my old ideas about how to do something and tried something new. Where I was stuck in the mud, I was holding on to how I’ve always done it. So, it was no surprise that what hadn’t worked in the past still did not.

And so, I have made an Ultimate Resolution that I believe will change my life. I am open and receptive to all possibilities. That means never saying (or thinking) I can’t do that, I’m too old for that, I don’t have enough money for  that…and so on. It means never dismissing any idea just because it challenges my comfort zone.

In the past year, just changing my attitude about social networking (that it’s only for kids) has revolutionized my business. And once I decided that I would just play around with it, suddenly it wasn’t so hard to navigate the websites. The know-how seemed to come to me in all sorts of ways: tips online, people who knew how to do it, and my relaxed attitude about it all seemed to make the instructions easier to follow.

Several business strategies I wanted to employ but hadn’t because of the costs become possible when I decided that I’d find a way to do it without spending the money. Suddenly people who could provide what I needed showed up and wanted to partner with me for an exchange of services. 

Do you see how simply opening your mind to all possibilities can change your whole world? No big visible big effort needed, just an ongoing gentle reminder to yourself not to reject anything or anyone without first looking with open eyes and open mind.

How many opportunities have you dismissed just because it didn’t fit your current view of reality? The only reality is that things change, so why not go with the flow instead of resisting?

Say it out loud. “I am open and receptive to all possibilities.” 

Doesn’t that feel good? Much better than “I can’t,” which makes you feel yucky. And it applies to everything on your to-do list and goals sheet. 

Join me this year in a creative thinking exercise. What’s really holding you back from achieving what you want? The circumstance, or how you think about the circumstance? Let’s all employ the Ultimate Resolution–I am open and receptive to all possibilities–and meet back in a year to tell our stories.

Are you in? Write your comments below. Do it now!